Movie Night
by Zaran
Summary: A "short" (ha bloody ha) story about a normal girl in college. One day her friends begin raving about a gorgeous boy with red hair and green eyes, but can one guy really be as great as rumor has it? Written in dedication to all of Shuuichi's fans.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Finally! A ficcy of mine that isn't Rockman-related! This one started out on a whim, as most of mine do. I was at a friend's one night, who apparently forgot that she was supposed to do something with me and had gone out with another friend for a few hours. So, while I was at her house, talking with her mom and being bored, I picked up one of my notebooks and a pen and actually started writing this fic. Gods, how long has it been since I used pen and paper for anything other than class notes? Anyway, I let a friend of mine read this one and she wants UPDATES, DAMNIT! UPDATES! So said she.

This one's dedicated to all those Shuuichi/Kurama fangirls out there. I've always wanted to be in a fic with one of my favorite characters, and I know there are others out there like me, so I wrote this fic in such a way that most anyone could fit into it. I openly invite you all to copy this fic to wordpad or something and wherever you see the name Toki, replace it with your own or one you'd like to be called or whatever. The only thing I ask is that you respect the fact that I wrote this and don't try to plagiarize me or anything.

**Movie Night**

Chapter 1

Saturday was fast approaching, and for the students at Wakinari University, it was a day that never seemed to come quickly enough. Summer always made for excellent days and many a good time among friends, but for Toki, this particular weekend brought with it a searing dread.

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Shuuichi Minamino. Almost every girl in school had her eye on the red haired boy. When she first heard of him from her friends, Toki naturally shrugged it off. One guy couldn't really be as popular and gorgeous as they reported, could he? And with so many other boys out there, how could he have caught the attention of "the whole campus, even some of the guys?" No, she thought, they were just being crazy.

Days passed, but Toki would often overhear rumors passed back and forth through quiet gossip both in and out of the classrooms. He has green eyes that sparkle like someone threw glitter in them, they would say. Or she would hear something along the lines of "Oh, I just love that long hair!" Sometimes they blabbered about his mannerisms as well, calling him a "perfect gentleman." Once or twice, she even heard a girl wonder aloud what she thought he looked like under his clothes, but Toki quickly shut that out of her mind.

Or at least tried to. The idea of such a boy seemed so unreal, but often she caught herself looking around a corner if she saw a flash of red hair or turning her head in the direction of the sounds of girls' exaggerated sighing, hoping that perhaps she might see this Shuuichi. By the end of that first week, she'd heard enough to believe most of the things her friends had been telling her. Still, a part of her remained skeptical. No one in the world could really be so pretty. If he was, he simply had to've been a model or something and well aware of his beauty. He was probably a jerk, in that case. Guys tended to flaunt in front of other males just as badly as some of the girls did if they knew it could get them some sort of social advantage, and it wasn't exactly a pleasant sight.

But Toki had yet to lay eyes on this rumored heartthrob. She never saw anyone in or between classes that looked even remotely like Shuuichi, so she assumed she never would. Their schedules most likely had just worked out that way.

Then came that unexpected day - Fate's idea of humor that tended to mess up people's lives. Toki arrived in her world history class a few minutes before it began, as she usually would. Her teacher had with him his briefcase and textbook, but he had not come to teach them that day. He explained to his class, slowly and haltingly, that his mother was dying and needed him to be there with her as soon as he could be. He was scheduled to leave town later the next day, and he did not expect that he would return for the remainder of the semester. Therefore, class would be cancelled, but the students were given the option to choose another teacher with the same class to finish off the semester and get their money's worth. If they could not fit it into their schedules, they could then be fully refunded for the course.

Toki chose the former - her scholarship would only last her so many years and she needed to get this class out of the way anyway. So next week, world history was relocated. Her new classroom was much larger than the first - it was held in an auditorium, not a small portable like she was used to. In her old settings, there had been only twenty-four students; now she counted at least twice that number, and she had arrived a little early, so more were sure to come. She recognized a few faces from her old class. None were any that she was too familiar with, but she sat near the aisle where she could quickly leave when the time came. One of her more irritable friends had given her a rude comment earlier and she was still sore from it, so making new friends wasn't exactly on her to do list. Toki only wanted to take the notes without a whole lot of interaction with anyone, then leave.

The teacher came into the room and settled herself at the podium in front of the class a minute or so before it was time to begin. She looked to be about in her 40's, Toki noted uninterestedly, with short brown hair lightly tinted by the silvers of age. A long blue dress did much to conceal her round-ish form. When it looked like everyone who was going to show had come, the lady stood with a smile, greeted her class, then began to explain the change in plans now that a few new people had been added to the roster.

Hitsumi-sensei, as she introduced herself, spoke for about a minute before Toki heard the door at the back of the room quietly open and then close again. She paid little attention to the footsteps that softly came down the stairs beside her, and even less to the sounds of someone seating themselves directly behind her.

At the front of the room, Hitsumi-sensei began to pass around a sheet of paper - the roll call, she explained - then she returned to the podium to start the day's lesson. She began a little behind in their current chapter in the textbook just as she said she would. Toki should have been relieved - she already had the notes from this section - but that seemed a foreign idea to her. Instead, she silently sulked over the injustice done to her earlier. She was long overdue for feeling angry at all, and today, she just felt like not letting it go.

A soft rustling sound came from the person behind her, then a tap on her shoulder. Mildly irritated, Toki turned her head slightly, not enough to see the person, with a "Hmm?"

"Sorry to bother you, but do you mind if I look at your book with you? I've forgotten mine."

The voice was unmistakably male, yet there was a sultry note of something almost feminine to it. It also had a scratchiness, as though he had recently been ill. The mere sound of it gave her an odd feeling. It was something strange and new, like nervousness but not at all unpleasant. At least not right then.

Not wanting to actually see the boy, Toki nodded and waved him down into the seat beside her. He thanked her gratefully and quickly slipped with his belongings into the vacant spot at her right, on the end of the row, unnoticed by their teacher.

He offered her a small glance, and Toki thought she saw him smiling as he introduced himself. She did the same, eyes now wide and even more unwilling to look at him, and he took it badly. He stared at her a moment longer, then went straight to the lecture with a small sigh for the rest of the class, seemingly unaware that anyone was sitting next to him at all. Once or twice, Toki did notice him turn his head back toward her, but he never said anything more.

Shuuichi Minamino. That was the name he had given her. And he could have called himself anything. He could have been anyone else, but no, this was the one the rumors spoke of. He had to be, and plain and simple, Toki was afraid to look at him. She didn't want to know that he was as gorgeous as everyone said he was, but from the way one or two girls in front of them kept glancing back toward them and whispering to their friends, she knew it had to be true.

It hit her swiftly and left her both uncomfortably nervous and in a despair. Toki was sitting right next to one of THE hottest and most sought after guys at school... and she had absolutely nothing to say to him. Her anger was now quite gone, but for all she knew, she had him completely repelled by her silence and refusal to meet his gaze or smile at him. It was a horrible start, and if she wanted to know him at all, she knew she was going about it all the wrong way, but nervousness had her locked up and captive.

That hour and a half was the longest Toki ever sat through in her entire life. By the end of class, she had calmed a little when she realized Shuuichi wasn't going to say anything more to her, but as she put her things back into her backpack, he turned and thanked her again.

"You're welcome," she said, forcing herself to at least smile at him this time. First impressions were everything, after all, but she almost regretted trying to make anything of the sort when she truly saw him for the first time.

My God, he IS hot, was her first thought after that moment as she almost dove back to her books. From even that small glimpse, Toki decided that the rumors had been true, to some extent, but they didn't do the boy an ounce of justice. She hadn't managed to make out a lot of detail on him other than what she had already heard and his heart-melting smile, but with that observation came the nervous feeling again. So back to her things Toki went.

It took her a moment to realize Shuuichi wasn't packing his things anymore, but neither was he making any move to get up and go. In fact, when she thought about it, it seemed like he was actually still looking at her.

Probably _over_ me to another person, she thought, not without a twinge of sadness. For some reason, that brought back memories of her last boyfriend and how that relationship ended. She still hated him.

Shuuichi's soft voice broke through Toki's thoughts, causing her to automatically turn back again and look at him.

"You don't look... well," he commented, a sympathetic look about his handsome features. His voice cracked when he went to speak again, and he cleared his throat politely before going on. "Is something wrong?... If it's alright to tell a complete stranger like me, that is."

Toki sighed and considered him for a moment. In the end, despite her discomfort and fluttering heart, she opted to indulge him and told him a shortened version of the incident earlier that day.

"I'm still mad at him," she concluded as they both stood with their things and headed out of the classroom. Already, she was beginning to feel a little more comfortable around this gorgeous person - the uneasiness was slowly fading away.

Shuuichi gave her a gentle smile. "You should," he agreed. "I admit, I only know-" His voice broke again, and Toki couldn't help but grin and shake her head as he apologized and coughed a little. Whether or not she did so out of nervousness, she never bothered to know. "-what you've told me, but I think I'd be angry too if I were you."

"Sounds like you've had a rough time today as well," Toki noted as they left the building and started off aimlessly down one of the sidewalks that stretched out before them.

The redhead laughed softly at this. "Yes, this cold. I've had it since the weekend, but I've only been out of classes for-" Again, his voice failed him, and he cleared it out frustratedly. "-two days now. Sorry about this."

"It's fine; I understand."

Up ahead of them stood the main hall, the largest activity center in the university. Within it was an arcade room, a smaller version of a movie theater, a multi-purpose room, a study area, a mini computer lab, and the cafeteria adjoined the far end of the building. All at once, Toki realized she was getting hungry. Class got out close to noon, so it was no wonder.

"I don't know about you," Shuuichi said suddenly, "but I need to go get lunch. Over sleeping and having to miss out on breakfast will do that to you."

Toki sheepishly allowed herself to giggle at this. She hoped he was trying to drop a hint with it, but she still couldn't quite believe her ears when he turned to her and asked, "Would you like to join me? I'll understand if you don't want-"

"No no, it's fine," she quickly responded, surprising herself. "I don't mind."

Days from then on saw Toki growing closer and closer to the redhead. They had two classes in common, but they only ever saw each other in world history. The other was merely the same course, not the same teacher. Still, it gave Toki another reason to see Shuuichi, and she would sometimes say she needed help with the notes or some such just for the chance to be with him again and see his smile.

Most of her female friends grew jealous of her once they learned she had a class with Shuuichi, but they never let it bother them too much, even if they did envy her half to death. Or at least they never let on that it bothered them, but as far as anyone was concerned, Toki was only "lucky" in that sense. She was Shuuichi's friend, nothing more.

Once she began to get to know him better, Toki started wishing they could become more than mere friends, and she did so with a secret passion. Shuuichi was a sweetheart, she soon discovered; her gossiping friends hadn't been kidding when they said he was a "perfect gentleman." It was apparent in his tone when he spoke to her, and when she said something to him, he always listened. When they were in class, he would save a seat next to him for her (and vice versa, depending on who got there first). If they had anything to say to each other, they would pass it in a note to the other, even at lunches.

The cafeteria bit was an everyday thing - the two of them either left class together on world history days to eat or they made an effort to try and find the other to enjoy each other's company during the meal. Shuuichi would always let Toki get in line in front of him, no matter how hungry he was. Their friends would often join in, and Toki found out rather quickly that he loved to hold meaningful or humorous conversations with people. He didn't always like to lead the subject; in fact, he seemed to prefer simply contributing more than anything. Leading was Mia's job. But Shuuichi did love to make others smile or laugh. Sometimes, Toki would catch him with his hands under the table when they were sitting beside each other (something that happened more often than not), and shortly afterward, she would feel him slip a piece of paper over next to her leg.

They kept that part subtle, and Toki loved this best because she never saw Shuuichi pass a note to anyone else. Hitsumi-sensei never seemed to notice, but a few of the other girls in class sometimes did. And so did their friends. That was when they heard the new rumor.

"So, is it true you two are dating?" Mia caught Toki with an especially devious stare. Both Shuuichi and Toki paused. For a moment, Toki felt her face burn wildly, completely uncertain as to how she should respond to that. At a loss, she turned to Shuuichi, who smiled thoughtfully at the talkative blonde. He seemed to be considering something, but he shook his head.

"I don't know where you heard that," he replied smoothly, his voice fully healed and much more attractive by then, "but no, we're not an item. Toki and I are just good friends, that's all."

_Good friends._ The words repeated themselves over and over in Toki's mind until they had no meaning. She nodded when Shuuichi looked to her for affirmation, but the smile on her face was forced. She felt numb inside, disappointed, almost as though she had been let down by the most important factor in her life. Suddenly she wanted to be anywhere but at that table or even in the cafeteria or the main hall, for that matter. She couldn't quite figure it out to save herself, but jealousy seemed to be the word for it. But jealous of what? It didn't fit.

It didn't occur to her until later on that day, after she and Shuuichi parted ways for the evening, and it hit her with such terrible force when she finally realized. Toki was in love with Shuuichi. She wasn't sure how or when it had happened, but somewhere over the course of two months' time, she had fallen for the redhead. The rest of that night went by unnoticed, and when she thought about it later, Toki found she couldn't remember much of it. Except that she had cried. A great deal.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** As with most of my recently introduced fics, this one had chapters already written that I decided to post slowly over a time. For this fic, this is the last chapter I've already written out, so from here on, it's probably gonna be a lot slower to update than this was. I've got so much to worry about right now, I'm just not going to have a lot of time.

**Movie Night  
**Chapter 2

Sleep cleared away most of that sorrow, and the next morning was kind to her... until she realized it was world history day. She would have to see Shuuichi again, and she wasn't certain whether or not she wanted to be near him today. She needed time to sort out her feelings first before she developed any more, though it was likely she wouldn't get that opportunity.

She was being silly, she decided before class started. Shuuichi had not yet arrived, and Toki felt bad at being grateful for that. Up until then, she had hoped to see him sooner; now she almost wished she had skipped class that day. Yesterday weighed heavily on her still, even after a calming night's rest. She knew she was in love with him, but she thought he liked her too. He seemed to be kinder to her, more considerate than usual where she was concerned. It occurred to her that perhaps that was the case, but perhaps he didn't want to tell her in front of everyone. She could understand that. They wouldn't get a moment's peace for months if he'd told Mia they were dating the day before.

It might also be maybe he wasn't certain she felt the same, Toki guessed. Maybe he was afraid or embarrassed to ask her out. With a smile, Toki decided then and there that, no matter what, she would find a way to tell Shuuichu how she felt about him. Someone had to drop the ball, wherever it might land, and if that someone had to be her, then she would do it.

But, she admitted to herself mentally with a sigh, she never had been good at that sort of thing. Class started before she could delve any further into it, and she tried to clear her mind for it. She didn't want to think about trying to confess herself to the most beautiful, most well-mannered person she'd ever met anymore for the moment.

Shuuichi was never late for class, not since the first day Toki met him, but despite her inner turmoil, she began to worry when he still had not shown up twenty minutes later, well after class had already started. The roll sheet was making its way down the rows and finally, it came to her, but she held on to it for a while after signing it. If Shuuichi didn't arrive to add his own signature to the list soon, she would have to pass it by him and he would receive his first tardy... or worse, an absence, if he waited too long.

The sheet couldn't stay in her possession forever, and with a guilty sigh, Toki finally gave it to the next person. Class went on and ended at 11:30 as it always did, but Shuuichi never came. For all the relief it brought her, Toki barely noticed it through an onset of worry. What had happened to her friend, she wondered. A rumble within her stomach interrupted her thoughts, and she hoped perhaps she would find him in the cafeteria.

Toki had only just left the classroom when she spotted the green eyed boy jogging through the entrance down the hallway. She didn't know what, exactly, to think when she saw him - hug him or chide him, both and neither seemed appropriate. He stopped suddenly as he saw students leaving class, gave a defeated sigh, and looked absolutely terrible, as though he knew he'd done something wrong and had been caught red handed. He met Toki half way to the doors, offering an embarrassed smile. She smiled back and, despite her better judgement, turned to teasing him.

"Oooo, bad boy, Shuuichi," she scolded playfully. "You missed an entire class today. What would your mother say to you if she knew that?"

"So it would seem," he laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "She'd kill me, I think."

"What's your excuse this time? Hangover? Totaled the car? Got thrown in jail for stealing?" They both laughed a little as they headed back out of the building, knowing Shuuichi would never put himself in such situations.

"Actually, I got into a street fight." When Toki gave him a feigned glare, he smiled a little more. "No, I didn't really. The truth of it is I didn't sleep too well last night... I had a test I forgot to study for, and it's today."

Toki gave him a look of disbelief, but she was still smiling. In her mind, however, it didn't add up. She knew Shuuichi, and Shuuichi never forgot about things like tests. Behind her smile, she wondered what was really going on, but kept it to herself.

"Would you mind letting me copy your notes from class today?" he asked, knowing full well she would oblige him. Toki considered letting him have her notebook for the night, but then paused a moment to think about it. They were headed to the cafeteria, no doubt where their friends would be, and confessing to Shuuichi in front of her friends would definitely NOT go smoothly. For one thing, most of her friends had a crush on him. For another, no one, least of all Mia, would stop talking about it for at least a year. Not that anyone having feelings for Shuuichi was anything new or that it wouldn't cause chatter anyway.

No, she wanted to tell him in privacy, in a time and place where she was certain they would be alone... and now was a bad time for that, as they were almost to the cafeteria. But Shuuichi was still waiting for her to answer him, so she took out her notebook and held it out to him. As he took hold of it, thanking her, and went to put it in his bag, he found her grip had not loosened and turned to look at her curiously. Toki bit her lip, uncertain about anything she was about to say.

"Only if... you'll help me with my algebra again." It sounded like a lie, even to her, but Shuuichi didn't seem to catch it... and there was something wrong about that. "I don't understand half my homework and I hate it."

He flashed her one of his grins. "Sure..." His words trailed off for a moment, and Toki turned away, certain he would say nothing more, and started to the cafeteria again. "But you'll have to come to my place after your other class today for help. I won't have time until then anyway."

Toki looked back at him as he caught up with her, closing his bag as he went. She wasn't certain whether or not he had a hidden purpose in his meaning as well, though she wished it. Shuuichi was pretty smart for his age, but she was certain he wasn't psychic. She wiped the startled look from her face, smiled back at the redhead and nodded.

The second and last class of the day came and went, and Toki left it feeling both anxious and giddy at the same time. Butterflies in the stomach was one thing, but if they flew any faster in there, she worried they might tear holes in her. She took her time walking to the edge of the gardens, where she and Shuuichi normally met to walk the distance to their dorms together. A few students passed her as she traced the familiar sidewalks, but she barely noticed them. Her eyes were trained on the sky, the trees, the grass, anything except what lay ahead of her. Once she saw the boy again, she knew the uneasiness would only get a little worse, but it was something she wanted to avoid as long as she could. She'd already made up her mind to confess to him when they got back to their campus homes, and that was hard enough just thinking about it.

Shuuichi was standing when she finally saw him as she rounded the corner of one of the math buildings, which was a first. He was always sitting on the bench when he waited for her on these days. Toki thought nothing of it when she came closer and he noticed her. He smiled when he saw her there, and once she caught up to him, he started up their normal conversation. Mostly it would revolve around her class, but that was always short lived... and today, it lacked one question: what would she be doing afterward? For this, they already had the answer, and as they slowly approached their dormatories, Toki stopped suddenly.

"I just realized I've never been to your room before," she stated with a shy smile.

Shuuichi gave a soft laugh at this, seeming to pick up on her thoughts. "It's not a nightmare, I promise. I keep things clean."

It wasn't exactly what Toki had in mind, but it would have to do, she decided. She didn't know where she was going with that anyway, but it left them with nothing to say in its wake, and she wasn't certain if saying anything at all had been such a good idea. They made the rest of the trip to Shuuichi's room with a silence between them, though he greeted almost everyone they ran across on the way there. Toki began to feel more and more nervous on the inside the closer she got to that actual location; outwardly, she seemed fine, and Shuuichi never noticed anything was wrong at all.

Perhaps that did her more good than she first worried. Once Toki was inside the room, she discovered Shuuichi wasn't lying about his cleaning habits. While he wasn't exactly Mr. Perfect about everything, the room still looked nice. The bed wasn't made, but the sheets were over on one side as though he had just gotten out of it and left them wherever he had shoved them to, not all over the floor. The desk had a computer that sat a little to one side; a roughly neat and small stack of notes sat next to the monitor. A laundry basket sat in one corner, by that time half full, but the trash bin next to it was empty. Strangely enough, there was no evidence of a roommate, and Toki wondered over that for a moment.

"You live alone?" she asked idly, turning to watch Shuuichi set up a spot with two pillows in the middle of the floor for the both of them. When they studied together, they normally sat or stretched out on the floor. There was only one chair that he tried to insist that she use if the pillow wasn't enough for her comfort, but Toki never used it and Shuuichi refused to sit in it while she was there. The bed would have sufficed, but neither of them could concentrate while they were there. More and more so as of late, Toki belatedly realized, and she stood, thinking it over curiously.

"Yes," Shuuichi replied, bringing her back to the present. "I requested this so I could find peace and quiet if I needed it."

"Mm." Toki plopped down on her pillow and splayed her body out behind her as she positioned herself on her stomach. As she opened her backpack to get her notes, she noticed, out of the corner of her eye, that Shuuichi was watching her from the other side of the room. She said nothing; she did nothing. She simply pretended not to notice, but in her mind, she was beginning to wonder if she would be able to concentrate on her homework at all now that she'd seen him looking at her again. She took some relief when he quickly turned back to the open drawer and pulled out a calculator and a few pencils. At least he didn't know she'd seen him looking.

Toki already had her book and notebook open when Shuuichi came to sit on his pillow beside her. "So, what's giving you trouble?" he asked, and she pointed numbly to a section. He bent down a little closer to get a better look at the problems and smiled. "These are easy," he stated, stretching out on the floor beside her. When he asked her for specifics, Toki pointed out a set of problems, not even realizing the randomness of her choice - when she looked again, she realized it was something she knew well.

Shuuichi looked into her notes and after a moment, a curious expression fell over him, and Toki couldn't figure it out. He glanced back up at the book, then at the notes again, then to her, one eyebrow arched in curiousity.

"Are you sure this is right?" he asked, a hint of humor in his tone.

"Yeah, why?" Toki blinked at her friend, somewhere on the bounds of confusion.

"This isn't the same section." To prove his point, the redhaired boy pointed to the top of the page, his fingertip resting just under the words "Chapter 7." "It's not even the same chapter in your notes." Again, his hand moved, his finger stopping in her notes beside "ch 4."

Toki stared at the accusing scribble beside Shuuichi's finger for a moment, then sighed heavily, brought a hand up to rub against her temples. It crossed her mind then that she could use this opportunity to confess everything. Her mouth opened, the words right on the tip of her tongue, and she sighed...

"I guess I'm just a little stressed is all." ... And faltered. Mentally, she kicked herself like mad. She had the words right there, the confessions right on the brim of her mind. The statement repeated itself in her head until she felt she would either blurt it out or hate herself for not doing so, but she knew then she could not manage one and/or the other. She still did not have the courage to tell Shuuichi how she felt about him, and it embarrassed her deeply.

"Is that so?" Suddenly, Shuuichi smiled at her. "I know this might be a little sudden-" Toki's heart leapt, unbidden. "-but since you mentioned it, my friend from high school is having a movie night this Saturday with all of our old buddies. He told me I could bring a friend if I wanted, so I was going to ask you when we got here anyway, but... would you like to come with me?"

Toki smiled at him and nodded, the feeling that had suddenly risen within her dashed away.

"I'll have to warn you though, it is a sleepover."

Toki shrugged, saying it was alright with her. She had no plans for the weekend, and she needed to get off campus for a while anyway. Stress had been taking a toll on her, however small that was. Perhaps a little getaway was just what she needed. It never occurred to her just how much she was asking for in agreeing to tag along this outting,

That had been Thursday night. Now it was Friday, pending the end of Toki's classes for the day. Tomorrow was the "big day," and only after she saw Shuuichi standing where he normally met her at the end of her last class for the day did she realize what she might have just landed herself in.


End file.
